So far it's working.
If he isn't very good right now, like you say, then maybe taking his time is in his best interest. Especially if he doesn't want to be just an also-ran. Being in prep mode doesn't allow anyone to make big changes. Or maybe some can but most would agree that competing a lot will make the body rebel much quicker. Why do you think Ronnie only did the O most years? Same with Yates. Because of fear? Or because the O title was more important than just doing lots of shows.
Would Shawn Ray trade all those Olympia showings for just one Sandow? What do you think?
The O title was more important, but then you are dealing with diff caliber of competitor. Ronnie use to chug along do a lot of contests. Beating Flex here and there. And we saw what happened whe Ronnie did the GNC so close to the Mr. O.
SHawn Ray would of course trade on those for one Sandow, but that was the reason why he conpeted, to win. And he firmly believed he could win, and in most people's view he did win 1994. To me, he does have the heart of a champion, he was willing to grind it out against the big boys, whereas Evan seems scared...
When I got two MD mags that detailed Evan's arm workout, I was thinking, okay, he's going be another great one, in the mode that they were pushing Mutant (forgot dude's name- short black guy with the huge legs, he had to retire due to health reasons). Now, I think Evan is hype, and even Frank McGrath is hype, but he seems to be more "nose to the grindstone", and marketable.
Evan to comes in along line of hyped guys, Chris Combs (?), Federov, Wolf (to some degree), Aaron Maddron, Eric Fromm, Van Amsterdam, Omar Deckard, that big black dude with the wide waist and huge legs, and others.